Faith is a journey not a guilt trip

GOD WITH USWeek 1 // In The ValleyMerry Christmas everyone! Can you sense it? It’s among us! Whether you like it or not, all of the stores on Knickerbocker, Myrtle, and Broadway have Christmas decorations, selling plastic trees, ornaments, and gift wrap paper, and you can get a peppermint coffee at your favorite coffee shop. All that can only mean one thing. Christmas is here.What’s your favorite part of Christmas? Is it how all the stores at the mall begin playing your favorite Christmas songs on the radio? Is it the holiday themed food at the restaurant. By the way, Melissa and I went to Denny’s this week. She ordered a cinnamon sticky bun stacked pancake smothered in icing! Nothing’s more Christma than trying to unstick your top pancake from your bottom pancake which is superglued by an inch of cinnamon gooey stickiness. Maybe what you enjoy about Christmas are the memories made. It’s the conversations around the dinner table. Visits from aunts and uncles that you hadn't seen all year. Maybe it’s ice skating at Central park. Or taking a stroll past the tree at Rockefeller Center. Or the scent of cinnamon pine cones in the air when you pass by the home goods store.There’s certainly a lot of things we can enjoy about the Christmas series. But another thing that this time of year tends to do is heighten the emotions. For example, when things are going good, the holidays can enhance the joy, happiness, and hope you feel. But say you’re in a tough season. The holidays can tend to heighten the opposite feelings as well.My wife and I were talking to someone this week we hadn’t seen in awhile. We were making casual conversation and I asked her how her Thanksgiving went. Her face changed, she began to tear up, and she told us that it was quiet, she didn’t do much, and just stood home because it’s not been the same since they lost their daughter. As you can imagine, for someone suffering through a tragedy as that, the holidays can tend to take a different tone.But what I would really love for us to take away from this Christmas time of year is that, no matter what season of life you find yourself in right now, we can have this reminder. And that is that God is with us. In fact, that’s what the whole Christmas story is all about. It’s creator God entering his creation for the purposes of redeeming mankind.In the book of Matthew, we read what is our key verse for our entire series. Let me give you a little context first. In chapter one of Matthew, we learn how God’s redemptive plan for all of mankind narrows down to this moment in history. A young woman named Mary becomes miraculously pregnant. Not with just any child, but she carries in her womb the one who would redeem all of mankind.It was a miraculous pregnancy as it didn’t happen by normal conception. Mary and Joseph weren’t married just yet. But just like the angel prophesied, Mary became pregnant.Now of course, Joseph, who was engaged to be married to Mary, finds out that she is pregnant. Here’s what I love about this guy. It says in Matthew that “being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.” He was truly in love with her and an upstanding guy.**Here’s a side note. Ladies, if you’re single and ready to mingle, don’t settle for just any jerk that crosses your path, OK? You look for that guy that is going to love you, treat you with dignity and respect, and that above all that is seeking after God with all his heart.So Joseph is probably hurt by the news, but then an angel appears to him in a dream to help explain to him what exactly is going on. The angel tells him that the baby in her womb is extremely special and that he will be the one to save his people from their sins.That’s where our key verse comes in. It’s actually quoted from the Old Testament book of Isaiah. Let’s read it together…See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” {Matthew 1:23 CSB}For ages, God seemed like a distant being. It seemed like He was up in the clouds somewhere while the rest of his creation was stuck on earth. There was a distance. God might’ve appeared in various forms to “special people” like Moses on the mountain. Or in the Old Testament, God had to be approached by going to the tabernacle through the sacrificial system. So people would offer their lambs, oxen, and goats for the atonement of sin.But now, according to this prophecy, we wouldn’t have a God who was distant and removed from us. Creator would enter his creation through the person and work of Jesus. He would be God with us.This is what this series is all about. We’re in the Christmas season, and while I love peppermint mocha caramel candy cane pumpkin pie lattes as much as the next guy. What we truly celebrate, and elevate, during this time is the fact that God is with us.For every other major world religion, embedded into their theology is people attempting to get to a distant God by living a more righteous life, working harder, being good, doing good things, being good people, praying harder, living religiously, and then maybe they can have a shot at drawing close to God.Only in Christianity, do we have God loving his creation so much that he personally enters his creation to rescue, redeem, and reestablish the broken relationship. He does so through the person and work of Jesus. For the next four weeks, as we enter this Christmas season, we’re going to look at how God is with us. The passage we want to focus in on is Psalm 23:4.Many of you know this Psalm because it’s David’s famous psalm which starts off by saying, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…”Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. {Psalm 23:4 CSB}Here’s the first thing I’d like for you to notice from this passage…1: GOING THROUGH A VALLEY IS NOT A MATTER OF IF BUT WHENValleys represent those low times in our lives. It’s those difficult seasons we go through in life. And the Psalmist says, “Even when I go through the darkest valley…” In other words, it’s hinting at the fact that going through a valley is not a matter of if, but when.I say this often. You’ve either just come out of a tough season, are going through a tough season now, or about to enter a difficult season. You may have received some bad news about a loved one, or have recently began suffering with some sort of physical ailment or sickness.Perhaps there’s been relational strife at home with family, or at work with coworkers that really increases your stress level. Maybe there’s been financial struggle where it seems you can’t make ends meet and the first of the month comes around all too quickly. Going through valley is not a matter of if but when.3 TYPES OF VALLEYS// VALLEY OF DARKNESS

Heard a diagnosis of a sickness from the doctor that is going to cost you a long recovery time.

// VALLEY OF WEEPING

Psalm 84:6 speaks of those who walk through the valley of Baka which translates to the valley of weeping.

This is when you go through those seasons in life when you go through uncontrollable weeping.

These are those times in your live when you go through such emotional pain and agony that you cannot hold back the tears that stream down your face.

You may have gone through this when you experienced the loss of a loved one, or if you received bad news of someone you love.

// VALLEY OF FEARS

In 1 Samuel we read about the Valley of Elah. It was the valley where David battled the giant Goliath. In that valley the Israelite army cowered in fear.

For you, the valley of fear may be an important decision you have to make. What school to go to, what profession to chase down, what business dream to make a reality.

Your fear may be one of the “what ifs.” What if it doesn’t work? What if I fail? What if they think X, Y, Z about me?

Where do you find yourself today? Right now in this moment? Do you find yourself in one of these valleys in this moment? Do you find yourself in the valley of darkness, weeping, or fears? Talking with many people, I’m learning that many of us are in one of these seasons right now.But this is why what David says next is so valuable to us.2: GOD IS WITHYOU IN THE VALLEYEven when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me... {Psalm 23:4 CSB}This is such a wonderful promise. The fact that even when we find ourselves in the darkest and most difficult of times, God is with us. He is with you. Are you going through a valley right now? He is with you.While I was preparing this message, I couldn’t help but think about a three Old Testament characters that went through the fire, literally. One of the ways I look at these trying times in our lives is as going through fire.In the book of Daniel we read of three young Jewish men who were in captivity under the rule and influence of a godless culture. A law was passed that would force all people to bow down, literally worship, at a statue of the King. The three Jewish men however refused to bow to another idol. Their loyalty was to God and God alone.Their punishment was to be thrown into a human sized oven. A barbaric punishment for refusing to worship the king. If anyone was having a bad day, it would be these guys!But after throwing them into the fire, the king looks into the furnace and realizes something. The king says, “Didn’t we throw 3 guys in there?”He exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” (Daniel 3:25 CSB}In the fiery furnace, God was with them. In the heart of their most trying time, with their lives literally on the line, Go was with them. And he is with you to. Jesus made this promise to the disciples in the book of Matthew. It’s a promise we can hold onto as well. Let’s read it together:And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” {Matthew 28:20 CSB}Do you find yourself in the valley today? Take in this truth, that he is with you. 3: YOU CAN FIND COMFORT IN THE GOSPELEven when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. {Psalm 23:4 CSB}Shepherds would use their rod and staff for different reasons. I want to list three reasons why David said in his Psalm that the shepherd’s rod and staff brought him comfort. As I list these out, I hope that you will be able to see the gospel in them.// SOVEREIGNTYOne reason the shepherd had a staff was to count his sheep. This means he knew his sheep and how many were in his flock. He kept tabs on his sheep and would make sure they wouldn’t wander off.For us this means that we are known. We are known by God. We can know we are cared for because Jesus knows us by name. Look at how Jesus said it in the book of John...My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. {John 10:27 CSB}// PROTECTIONThe rod would provide protection for the sheep. Whenever wolves, coyotes, foxes, or even larger animals like bears and lions would come to attack the sheep, the shepherd’s rod was used for protection.​

For us this means that our lives, our salvation is not in our own hands, but in God’s hands. Our eternal security is in Christ’s grip. And whenever our spiritual enemy attempts to rear his ugly head, Jesus, our good shepherd, protects us and keeps us safe.In the very next verse, John 10:28, Jesus says this…I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. {John 10:28 CSB}// DIRECTIONAnother reason the shepherd used the rod and staff was to guide his flock. In fact, in the beginning of David’s Psalm he says, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He leads me beside quiet waters.”Part of the shepherd’s job was to lead his flock to find nice, green grass, and fresh water for the sheep to eat and drink. He used the staff to guide and direct them towards that.For us, this brings us comfort because Jesus provides the way for us. We find direction in Jesus. When we were lost and astray, Jesus brought us comfort by leading us to himself. Jesus said it this way in John 14. Let’s read this outloud together.Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. {John 14:6 CSB}If you find yourself in a valley today, know that God is with you. It doesn’t mean that there is a magical solution to your problems. But it does mean that you have a loving God who is sovereign, who loves you, and who cares for you. He has promised to never leave you or forsake you.If you’re here today and you haven’t accepted God’s free gift of grace through Christ, I want to give you an opportunity to respond. God will never leave us or forsake us. But one moment, when Jesus was on the cross, paying the penalty for our sin, he cried out in a loud voice, “My God why have you forsaken me. You see, on that cross, Jesus was forsaken for you and me. Our sin led him to that cross. Jesus was the only perfect and able sacrifice. The punishment of our sin and God’s wrath was poured out on him, so that you don’t have to absorb the punishment yourself.God’s word teaches us, all we need to do is accept this free gift of God’s grace in Jesus.